


Casual Affection

by nepenthe_writer



Series: WinterIron Bingo [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Affection, Fluff, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 04:11:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19310371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nepenthe_writer/pseuds/nepenthe_writer
Summary: Tony enjoys being physically affectionate with those he cares about. Being physically affectionate when he's half asleep however might be a problem.





	Casual Affection

**Author's Note:**

> Square: I2 - Accidental Kiss for the WinterIron Bingo

Tony was a very physically affectionate person. If he was asked he would say it was just because he liked poking at people to see what reactions he’d get but that wasn’t what people who had gotten to know the man beneath the press smile would say.

Rhodey had actually been the one to bring out Tony’s brand of affection way back in their college days. All Tony had been at the time was a too young teenager in way over his head having been thrown to the sharks by a father that didn’t care about him beyond what he could do for the legacy of the company. Physical affection hadn’t been a big part of Tony’s childhood and he had been suspicious of Rhodey’s overtures at first expecting an ulterior motive in play.

It was only with consistency and a whole lot of repeating himself that he didn’t expect anything in return that it finally started to sink in to Tony that there might actually be people that could give him love and affection for no other reason than to want to see him happy.

That little bit of caring had opened the floodgates and it was like a switch had been flipped somewhere inside of him. Tony had never looked back. Those that made it into his circle of friends were constantly treated anywhere from hands on the shoulders and hugs to hair brushed out of their face and kisses on the cheek. Anything that Tony could do to show that he cared he had no problem in doing.

Those that he took as lovers were treated to constant intimate touches and kisses to show his affection. Little things to show that he cared about and was thinking of them. An arm around their waist while laying in bed was one of his favorite forms of affection. A quick peck on the cheek getting in or out of a car was a continual occurrence. Holding hands as they went out to a restaurant or just walked around the city was just a given for the man. Everything that Tony had been denied growing up he wanted to give out in spades so that the one that he was with would never doubt that he cared for them.

Those that became family to him in all but blood got their own brand of affection. Cuddles on the couch were commonplace in the Avenger’s Tower and more often than not Tony could be found glued to the side of one of his friends as they watched a movie or just hung out in the common room.

Despite being an equal opportunity cuddler, Tony’s favorite snuggling partner definitely had to be Steve. A by-product of the super soldier serum was that Steve tended to run at a hotter temperature than a regular human would and Tony enjoyed having his own personal space heater to cuddle with. Something about it just made him feel calm and secure even if he would never say so out loud.

When Bucky was found and brought into the fold Tony had initially been looking forward to having a second super soldier to cuddle up with during movie night to either give Steve a break or to be snuggled up in between them sharing the heat that their two bodies would give off.

That idea was quickly shelved however when Bucky proved to be very skittish upon arrival to the tower. He didn’t want anyone in his personal space and no one wanted to press him for more than he was willing to give. Everyone collectively decided to take a step back and wait for him to be more comfortable around the group first. After all, they all knew what it was like to be haunted by demons from their past and none of them wanted to push Bucky beyond where he was comfortable with.

This was part of the reason why Tony was surprised when Bucky had come down to his lab on his own to have Tony look at his arm. According to the soldier it hadn’t been reacting as fast or as smooth as it normally did and he had been hoping that Tony might be able to find some time to take a look at it.

Tony had of course promised that he would get it working again. Not only would it be a personal challenge for the genius but there was no way that he was going to allow one of his teammates to walk around in pain when there was something that he could do about it. He assured Bucky that he would do everything he could to get the arm back into tip top shape again and as a genius there was a lot at his disposal that he could do. That had coaxed a small, shy smile out of Bucky and had been the beginning of their weekly maintenance sessions.

Even as they grew more comfortable around each other Tony did his best to keep his distance from the other man. Not only was Bucky attractive in all the ways that did it for Tony, he was also someone that’d had his choices taken away from him for seventy years and Tony wasn’t about to become just another person that didn’t give Bucky a voice in what happened to his own body. Even if Tony wanted nothing more than to lean in and find out what the soldier’s lips tasted like.

While he was working Tony was always the most cautious around the shoulder joint. The skin there was the most scarred and therefore the most sensitive and the last thing that Tony wanted to do was to cause the man anymore pain than he had already been put through. He knew what his own chest felt like when the scars weren’t treated carefully and there was no way that he wanted to cause that kind of pain to anyone else.

Taking his time and making sure that nothing he did was going to hurt the other man meant that he took longer than if he had done otherwise. This extra time was both a pleasure and a torture for Tony.

The genius despite being on the older side liked to think that he wasn’t dead just yet no matter how Peter liked to tease and he could appreciate the well muscled form that was attached to the arm that he helped to maintain. Having to sit so close for so long gave Tony’s mind plenty of material to daydream with when he didn’t have to give his full concentration to any one particular fix.

Working on the shoulder joint was arguably the worst. With the way that he had to sit in order to get a good angle on it Tony couldn’t help but let his mind be drawn to the fact that his face was close enough to Bucky’s that all he would have to do was to tip his chin up and they would be kissing.

Each time that thought wormed its stubborn way to the forefront of his mind he had to fight it back and was grateful for the fact that Bucky had never seemed to notice just how much he enjoyed being close to the other man. He didn’t want to make the other man uncomfortable especially since there wasn’t anyone else that could maintain the arm the way that Tony could.

Just because he wouldn’t take advantage of the maintenance sessions to get close to the newest assassin to join the group didn’t mean that Tony wouldn’t use movie nights to his advantage and choosing his spot to sit. Time had passed since first coming to the tower and Bucky was much more comfortable with people being close to him now that he had gotten to know them and grow more comfortable around everyone.

While normally Tony would spread the love around to each of the Avengers, with a slight preference for Steve because of the increased body heat, lately Tony had been making a point to sit next to Bucky under the guise of stealing his body heat, which was higher than Steve’s due to the difference in the serum he had received, and therefore got the added benefit of getting to press right up against the well muscled side. That was how Tony made it through two and a half movies before the long day started to catch up with him and he began to drift off into sleep, fighting it the whole way.

Normally when he would fall asleep on his teammates like this he would slouch down until he could pillow his head on the other Avenger’s lap. This time though, before he could muster up the energy to do just that Tony was asleep between one blink and the next leaning his head against Bucky’s shoulder.

Despite the way that he would snuggle up with the rest of the Avengers on the couch, or any other surface really, falling asleep on someone’s shoulder wasn’t something that Tony had done since he was with Pepper. That was an intimacy that he preferred to save for the partner that he was with. He knew that saying it out loud would sound ridiculous but that didn’t make him feel any less strongly about wanting to save that intimacy for just the one special person.

That was why when Tony woke up in the living room of the common floor of the tower after a movie marathon, head pillowed on someone’s shoulder, his still mostly asleep mind decided that they must be dating and it was a good idea to give them a peck on the cheek as he got up off the couch and stumbled his way towards the elevator to head off to bed.

As he started to sleepily shuffle away Tony froze for a second as his brain caught up with his actions and he realized where he was and what he had just done. Slowly spinning in place Tony looked back at the couch to see Bucky sitting there with a small smile and faint blush on his cheeks. Coming fully awake in that moment of horror Tony opened his mouth to try and play it off. Before he could even start he was cut off.

“If you wanted to kiss me you should have just asked Doll,” Bucky said as his smile morphed into a shit eating grin, standing up from the couch and making his way over to where Tony was standing. “You’ll need to take me out to dinner first though. Not sure what Stevie told you about me but I’m not that kind of girl.”

Tony blinked twice as what Bucky said sank in and he began to relax and let out a relieved laugh.

“I think I could make that happen,” said Tony as he felt the surge of adrenaline that had hit him when he realized that he had accidentally kissed Bucky fade away. “Why don’t I take you out to breakfast though. Breakfast dates are underrated and we can get to the kissing that much faster.”

Bucky let out a bark of laughter and shook his head in amusement.

“I’ve heard stories about what you’re like in the morning. Sure you’re up for a breakfast date Doll?” questioned Bucky.

Tony gave a shrug and a half smile knowing that his reputation for getting up in the mornings was a well deserved one. “Brunch then,” he amended. “As long as I’ve got you for company and coffee to get me awake I don’t need anything else.”

“It’s a date then,” Bucky agreed, placing his own quick kiss on Tony’s cheek before heading out of the living room and off to his own room.

Tony couldn’t stop himself from brushing the spot on his cheek where he could still feel Bucky’s lips with his fingers. The initial kiss might have been more than a bit embarrassing but Tony couldn’t stop the swell of happiness from how it turned out in the end. Embracing that feeling Tony headed to the elevator so that he could take himself to bed. Tomorrow would be here soon enough and he wanted to be well rested for his date and all of the kisses he would be able to give to Bucky. Only this time, they would be done with intention.


End file.
